RNC Spokesman: Reince Priebus Won’t Be Ousted As Chair

A spokesman for the Republican National Committee clarified Monday that the organization’s chair, Reince Priebus, will remain in that position even if Donald Trump wins the nomination at the July convention.

“Reince Priebus was elected unanimously by the 168 members of the Republican National Committee,” RNC communications director Sean Spicer said in an appearance on CNN. “He will serve until January of 2017 because those are the people actually who elect the chairman.”

Trump hinted in a weekend Washington Post interview that he may install allies on the committee that would vote Priebus out of office if he wins the GOP nomination.

Priebus won re-election in a near-unanimous vote in 2015, earning him a third term and the title of longest-serving RNC chair in modern history.

Spicer pointed to Priebus’ enduring popularity and fundraising chops as reasons why any nominee “would beg Reince Priebus to stay as chairman.”

“Under this chairman we’ve put together the best resource and staff and equipped political party in the history of the United States,” Spicer said. “When you look at our field operation and our opposition research on Hillary Clinton and potentially Bernie Sanders, it’s amazing. We’re the gold standard of political parties.”